PDA

View Full Version : Season of the Force opens early



Pages : [1] 2 3 4

olegc
11-13-2015, 10:24 AM
From all of the twitter reports - looks like Seasons of the Force is now open (Friday 11/13). Star Tours with added scene, Hyperspace Mountain, food, Launch Bay. All of it..
Mouseplanet had a TON of pics last night from the media preview (as well as others). Lots of stuff to see.

olegc
11-13-2015, 03:17 PM
so here's a question for those that may have been on Hyperspace Mountain - are the on-ride photos themed as well as you exit? I would expect it but I wondered.

And, since the top passes now include downloads - do they include HSM pics?

Nikara
11-13-2015, 04:15 PM
Unless something has changed in the last few hours, it isn't really open yet. Star Tours is back to the normal, old video (I rode it today around 11:30am), all of the other rides/experiences are closed to everyone other than the media. The food offerings, however, are available, including the BB-8 sipper cup, which I bought :)

olegc
11-13-2015, 04:19 PM
But folks have been on HSM and posted tweets about it today.

Nikara
11-13-2015, 04:38 PM
If you had a media pass, you could go on the ride. I just heard that they soft opened Path of the Jedi, but I haven't heard of any of the others being open. Also saw that they just opened Hyperspace Mountain. This has been constantly changing all day, so I wouldn't recommend anyone make a trip yet JUST to see it.

Mermaid
11-13-2015, 05:07 PM
I rode HSM at 4:25 today. We were coming down the ramp when the first sled returned. I went to the restroom back there around 330 and thought there were an awful lot of CMs at the "sorry it's closed" checkpoint. Like 6-8. DH were eating our pretzel across from Star Trader with Fastpasses for Buzz. The app said Buzz was down so we just hung out a while. When we got up, on a whim, we checked Space Mt. It was open!!! We walked all the way to the last room and were on within 5 min or so. It was pretty cool, the music was the best part. I sat on the left, I think DH saw more graphics on the right. I wanted to go again but DH wanted to ride Buzz again. He won. We checked back and I could see the line was out on that roof part so we skipped it. I'm not a huge Star Wars person, so I'm sure I didn't fully appreciate it, but I thought it was pretty fun and added an intensity with the music. The photo flashed, but there were no photos on the screens when we went through.

Mermaid
11-13-2015, 05:10 PM
Wait, I was on the right... Graphics better on the left side! I got in the sled first.

Malcon10t
11-13-2015, 07:14 PM
Soft openings today. No photos avail since it was not really ready. Loved it.

cstephens
11-13-2015, 07:18 PM
Launch Bay wasn't open that we could see. Hyperspace Mountain wasn't open when we walked by but I noticed the line of CMs at the barricades. We went into Pizza Port to look at the new items there. Interesting. I didn't buy the BB8 cup. Yet. When we came back out, I looked and saw that the CMs were no longer blocking the entrance, and people were going through, so we headed into the ride. We were at the last part of the loading ramp when the first occupied sled came back. Lots of cheering. Loved the ride. Loved, loved, loved. We ended up going on it again, with about a 20-25 minute wait. I can't wait for the rest of my friends to ride it. And as Mermaid said, no ride pictures.

When we were going into Hyperspace Mountain, I did see that Path of the Jedi was open. We didn't have time to go today.

Mermaid
11-13-2015, 07:40 PM
I think you must have been just a few sleds in front of us!

Nikara
11-13-2015, 08:37 PM
I got to experience Path of the Jedi- nothing really to write home about. All of the footage from the new movie is from an already released trailer. It will be good for people who aren't huge Star Wars fans and who need a reminder about basic plot points before the next movie. Worth watching once, but I won't see it again.

cstephens
11-14-2015, 09:41 AM
Thanks for the info. I guess I'll wait for Path of the Jedi until after I see Force Awakens. I don't really want to see any more of the footage, and I haven't even seen the last trailer yet.

Gone2Disneyland
11-16-2015, 06:57 AM
I was at the park Saturday evening keeping my new BB-8 sipper I picked up at the Pizza Port company at the back of the restaurant. When I walked out, around 7pm, I found stachions set up along the long corridor into the Space Mountain queue and open doors into the Tomorrowland Theatre. When I looked over at the theatre entrance, I saw guests being allowed in. BAM! I beelined straight for the theatre and walked into the soft opening of Path of the Jedi.

8719

I enjoyed the short, which was a tribute movie to the Star Wars movies, all six of them. I posted a review on my website (http://www.frankpepito.com/blog/star-wars-path-of-the-jedi-film-review), but besides enjoying it a lot, my biggest takeaway is that for the 20-somethings who have never seen any of the original movies (and I personally know some are SW virgins), it reveals all kinds of spoilers for them. Ha ha!

But distracting me while I was sitting in the theatre was the realization that the stanchions probably meant Hyperspace Mountain had soft opened as well. So after the movie, I went back to HSM and entered the queue. The length of the queue had stretched to just before the ramp. And a CM assured us that the line should go reasonably quickly because the opening was unannounced and no one with fastpasses would also be entering the queue (FastPass machines were off.). He was right; I got into the ride vehicle within 35 minutes.

Loved it! Just the John Williams soundtrack alone would've been worth it for me, but the projections, especially the ones in the second half of the ride, were fun additions too.

bumblebeeonarose
11-17-2015, 07:31 AM
my biggest takeaway is that for the 20-somethings who have never seen any of the original movies (and I personally know some are SW virgins), it reveals all kinds of spoilers for them.

So sad! Who raised those kids? We're not big Star Wars fans, but my oldest (5) watched some of the movies with us a few years ago prior to a park trip. We'll be sure to have our son watch them before we go to Disneyland again.

cstephens
11-17-2015, 07:53 AM
I spent 12 hours at Disneyland yesterday, and I was in Tomorrowland for about 98% of it. The only other land I was in was Main Street and that's pretty much because it was required. I got to do the things I wanted to do and mostly just spent a lot of time checking things out. The crowds in the morning were crazy but people seemed to be having a good time all day. Looking forward to experiencing it again with more friends tonight at the AP party.

DisneyManders
11-23-2015, 09:24 PM
Just heard today that it will still be on when we go in April! So excited! ����. Re-watching the movies before the new one comes out!

danyoung
11-24-2015, 05:16 AM
...my biggest takeaway is that for the 20-somethings who have never seen any of the original movies (and I personally know some are SW virgins), it reveals all kinds of spoilers for them.

I think 30 to 40 years is enough of a cushion to where I'm not going to be too concerned about spoilers (SPOILER - Darth Vader is Luke's father!!!).


I spent 12 hours at Disneyland yesterday, and I was in Tomorrowland for about 98% of it.

Overall, what did you think of it? I ask because another site has an article just blasting the whole thing as wasted space and wasted opportunity.

bumblebeeonarose
11-24-2015, 07:43 AM
Overall, what did you think of it? I ask because another site has an article just blasting the whole thing as wasted space and wasted opportunity.

I couldn't read the report on that other site yesterday. Didn't even bother to look at the pictures of the park because it started off by saying what a poor job Disney did on the Star Wars overlay. Overly negative much? My thoughts (I haven't been there though) is that it's an OVERLAY. It's not a whole new ride or a whole new land. It's a temporary offering meant to give locals and tourists something to see in the slower winter months. The pictures look nice and reviews from guests I've read sound positive.

olegc
11-24-2015, 09:25 AM
I like it enough but not to spend half my day there.

Pammer
11-24-2015, 09:41 AM
I couldn't read the report on that other site yesterday. Didn't even bother to look at the pictures of the park because it started off by saying what a poor job Disney did on the Star Wars overlay. Overly negative much? My thoughts (I haven't been there though) is that it's an OVERLAY. It's not a whole new ride or a whole new land. It's a temporary offering meant to give locals and tourists something to see in the slower winter months. The pictures look nice and reviews from guests I've read sound positive.I agree with you & Dan - that report was SO negative, I stopped reading it and my opinion of the site overall dropped dramatically...I don't think it can be as bad as they said, so I will draw my own conclusions when I visit in January. I love both Star Wars and DL, and am eager to experience Seasons of the Force in person!

cstephens
11-24-2015, 10:10 AM
Overall, what did you think of it?

I should clarify that I spent the majority of 12 hours in Tomorrowland on the opening day of Season of the Force because I was wandering back and forth, mostly reporting on the lines and offerings and such on Twitter. I did one ride on Star Tours and went inside Launch Bay for about 15 minutes and inside Superhero HQ for about half an hour, and that was mostly in line for Thor.

I think Hyperspace Mountain is incredible. Riding it the first time reminds me of how overwhelmed I was riding Haunted Mansion Holiday for the first time. It wasn't just an overlay like I consider small world holiday. It's transformative. I've been on Space Mountain enough times that I know the track fairly well. Hyperspace Mountain made me forget that I know the track fairly well. For anyone who's been on Ghost Galaxy, it's a super-sized version of that. Love, love, love it, and I also love hearing the reactions of people who have just come off their first ride, clapping and cheering.

I haven't been to Path of the Jedi and likely won't until I've seen the new film. But, it's film clips - it is what it is. It's the same problem with every other offering in there, but it's a problem with the limited space of the venue.

I like the slight changes to Star Tours. I didn't look too hard at the new stuff but will after I've seen the new movie. But it was fun and funny.

I was only in Launch Bay for a short time because for much of the stuff in there, I can't really look at it until I've seen the movie. Once I have seen the new movie, I expect to be in there a while, multiple times, mostly because I can only stand for so long before it gets too painful, and I intend to look at every single prop and read every single placard in there. I am glad they are totally separate and accessible from everything else. One of my complaints about the "Treasures of Asgard" stuff is that it's integrally tied to the Thor meet and greet. You can't see any of that stuff for the most part without waiting in the line to meet Thor, and the best stuff is in the little room where you're transported to Asgard - and you're only in there for a few minutes, much of it in the dark with lots of other people, so you can't get a really good look at the artifacts in there. I would love for them to put all the artifacts stuff by themselves so you can just look at that if you want to. Sorry, I digress.

I'm not interested in the gaming stuff and am not too partial to the meet and greets, but I don't tend to do meet and greets at Disneyland for the most part anyway. I could see the appeal of the meet and greet for Star Wars characters, though, especially if they later include people other than Vader and Chewie.

The empty cantina area is a bit odd. When I was there, most of it was being used as overflow for the Disney Visa character meet queue. I've heard a bit about what it might be used for, but that seems odd too. It's cool for a backdrop for pictures, but it's a bit dark in there.

I also think the former Innoventions/Carousel of Progress building has its limitations on what you can do in that space.

I'm looking forward to see the additions to Jedi Training Academy, and that's another venue that could easily include other characters.

On a few occasions, I saw a couple of First Order stormtroopers wandering around, interacting with people. They easily and quickly drew a crowd. That adds a lot of atmosphere to the area, and I expect that will be happening a lot in the new Star Wars land. They could also add other characters wandering around and interacting, like the jawas that we had a blast with at the pre-race party for the Star Wars half marathon weekend.

The other thing to keep in mind is that I wouldn't have expected them to go all out for this. I'm expecting them to save that for Star Wars land. I also don't expect everything to be an E-ticket ride. Everyone will have their own opinions and expectations. I've enjoyed what I've experienced so far, and it sure seemed like the strangers I was observing all day were enjoying it as well.

olegc
11-24-2015, 10:48 AM
this is totally OT - but I just realized that Star Tours should say its a timewarp drive and a hyperdrive - you now have jumps from original trilogy, prequel, and now 30 years later to Jakku - all back and forth. While riding its very fun but thinking about it that may be a weird thing for ultimate SW fans. I really digressed, sorry.

Janis and Aaron
11-24-2015, 09:51 PM
DS and I are big Star Wars fans and were so looking forward to Season of the Force that we woke up at 6 AM on Sunday so we could be there at rope drop. It really exceeded our expectations. [SOME SPOILERS BELOW]

Hyperspace Mountain: Much better use of the video technology than in Ghost Galaxy. The scenes blend into the "space" background very well, and are generally well placed. SW music and sound effects are very well used. In some places, there are "laser blasts" along the tracks as either the TIE fighters try to get you, or you try to get them. I loved hearing the pilots' chatter during the ride - it felt so immersive. And since I absolutely LOVE Admiral Ackbar, I was thrilled to see him featured on the new safety video and to hear him on the "comm system." I normally can take or leave Space Mountain, but we went on 3 times before the lines got too long, and I never got tired of it.

Star Tours: We didn't think anything could top Hyperspace Mountain. Then we went on Star Tours. DS correctly predicted what the new scene would be. It is thrilling and ties in well with the new movie. I liked the side screen where one of the new main characters communicates with you. We didn't know that the holographic character would also be different, and were so excited when we saw who it was. We were surprised and pleased that the final destination scenes had minor changes, as well. (We had the Naboo scene 3 times - the usual version, and two different variations. We also had the Coruscant ending once, and it was a variation as well.)

Path of the Jedi: Yes, it's basically a long trailer, but it is very well edited and the scenes are well chosen. It would be a great introduction to the Star Wars series for those who haven't seen it, or those who are casual fans. It was so well done that we watched it twice, and will watch it again next time. But then, we're rabid fans.

Launching Bay: We opted not to wait in line for the meet & greet, but just toured the props instead. What is there is nice, but it's not much. It is well balanced between the older movies and the newer ones. The store has some amazing (but costly) stuff - we enjoyed looking around. Since we know Aurebesh (the Star Wars alphabet), we had fun translating the phrases in the cantina and the game area. We heard that Boba Fett sometimes hangs out in the cantina area, and a Photopass guy was there "just in case" (which probably means Boba Fett was coming out imminently), but we didn't care to wait around.

Galactic Grill: Yes, they probably just changed the names on their normal food offerings, but it's still fun. They do offer French toast made with "blue bantha milk" if that appeals to you.

New merchandise: We stumbled on the best new merch offering - customized name badges with Star Tours or SW designs, with your name in Aurebesh, from Tomorrowlanding. At only $10 (AP discounts apply), they are super cool and affordable. Out of all the great things we did and saw that day, DS's favorite things was getting his personalized name badge.

Overall atmosphere: SW music plays throughout Tomorrowland, loud enough to even hear over the crowds. New banners are hanging, and they are a fun representation of heroes and villains new and old (including from SW Rebels - nice to see that show getting included). Stormtroopers (in the new armor style from The Force Awakens) were walking around a lot, and their dialogue ties in to the new movie well.

We look forward to going back. By getting there at rope drop, we got to do everything we wanted without bad crowds, and it was a really perfect 4 hours or so of soaking up the SW atmosphere.

cstephens
11-25-2015, 04:16 AM
New merchandise: We stumbled on the best new merch offering - customized name badges with Star Tours or SW designs, with your name in Aurebesh, from Tomorrowlanding. At only $10 (AP discounts apply), they are super cool and affordable. Out of all the great things we did and saw that day, DS's favorite things was getting his personalized name badge.

The lines for that were fairly long on opening day. They were telling people that it would be a three-hour wait before you could pick it up after you ordered it. One friend opted to come back the next day, and she said it took about 10 minutes. It seemed to be pretty popular. I'm probably one of the few who wasn't as excited as others because they offered this at Star Wars Celebration a few years ago, so I got it there. I have it on one of my backpacks, and I've gotten so many inquiries about it.



Overall atmosphere: SW music plays throughout Tomorrowland, loud enough to even hear over the crowds.

I love the music, but I wish it were a longer loop. I wouldn't figure they normally expect people to spend 12 hours in Tomorrowland but it seemed like with the wealth of available music, they were only playing a few select pieces.

AnotherJenny
11-25-2015, 04:38 AM
The lines for that were fairly long on opening day. They were telling people that it would be a three-hour wait before you could pick it up after you ordered it. One friend opted to come back the next day, and she said it took about 10 minutes. It seemed to be pretty popular. I'm probably one of the few who wasn't as excited as others because they offered this at Star Wars Celebration a few years ago, so I got it there. I have it on one of my backpacks, and I've gotten so many inquiries about it.

I actually waited 35 minutes last Monday only to be told at the register that it would be a 3 1/2 hour wait. At one point both CMs working the register left to go to Star Trader's and we all just stood there while the other CMs fiddled with the machines. A head's up at that point would have been nice. I went back the next night before the AP party and the line was longer. At that point I wasn't committed to staying very long at the party, so I opted not to try again. I'm planning to try again next week at opening to hopefully avoid a backup. I will be beyond annoyed if the one I want sells out before I can get back there again.